Meditations from Carmel

Mother Isabel of the Sacred Heart - Chapter 41 Her life at Carmel. “The light which has filled my soul since I entered the “Little way” has not come from books but from the Holy Ghost, although I have had neither ecstasies nor visions. My prayer time always passed either in dryness and in struggling against distractions, in trying to forget the pains in my stomach, or in keeping my mind at rest in the presence of God Whom I felt within my heart. I think that the latter was a form of prayer of quiet, an obscure contemplation in which, as with our saint, “the Master instructed me without the sound of words.” I felt with delight that He was beautifying my soul. I was like a flower endowed with consciousness and able to love and enjoy the sun which had made it bloom and given it colour. Without seeing anything with the eyes either of the body or the soul I realised that God was present, I felt His gaze bent on me full of gentleness and affection, and that He smiled kindly upon me. I seemed plunged in God. My imagination was submissive and did not act. I did not hear any noise that might be going on around me. My soul looked fixedly into the gaze invisibly bent on me and my heart repeated untiringly “My God, I love Thee!” While reiterating it with obscure but deep joy, I longed that the divine gaze, the spiritual Sun, should cause the virtues to flourish in my soul, and was conscious that my longing was granted and that this profound peace and simple act of love concealed an in comprehensible activity. Sometimes, remembering that our Mother, Saint Teresa, said that when we feel we are so near the King we should make our petitions to Him, I used to plead for souls; but as a rule I did not pause for that, being convinced that to repeat My God, I love Thee! pleased Him better and included all the rest.” TIME 5:00 MOTHER ISABEL OF THE SACRED HEART Carmelite Nun of Lisieux. 1882-1914 Book written from a circular letter sent to Carmelite convents on her death. Authorised translation from the French, with an introduction by Dom Benedict Weld-Blundell, O.S.B. THE KINGSCOTE PRESS, 3 DYER S BUILDINGS, HOLBORN, LONDON, E.G. 1916.

From the Exhortations of Blessed Frances to her nuns “Whatever the troubles and difficulties that weigh you down, bear them all patiently and keep in mind that these are the things which constitute your cross. Offer your help to the Lord and carry the cross with Him in gladness of heart. There is always something to be endured, and if you refuse one cross, be sure that you will meet with another, and maybe a heavier one. If we trust in God and rely on His help, we shall overcome the allurements of vice. We must never let our efforts flag nor our steps grow weary, but must keep our hearts under steady discipline. Consider the afflictions and great trials which the holy Fathers endured in the desert. And yet the interior trials they suffered were far more intense than the physical penances they inflicted on their own bodies. One who is never tried acquires little virtue. Accept then whatever God wills to send, for any suffering He permits is entirely for our good. Christ assures us in the Gospel, “Who wishes to follow me must deny himself. He must be forgetful of self; he must regard himself as nothing; he must despise himself and desire to be despised by others.” The attitude derives from Our Lord’s command that we are to take up his cross and follow Him. We are to accept sufferings of mind and body for love of Him, just as He bore His sufferings for love of us. It is true that the Jews lifted the cross from our Savior’s shoulders, but this was out of concern lest He die from blows and exhaustion before reaching the place where He was to be crucified. And when they laid the weight on Simon’s shoulders he submitted most unwillingly, even though aware that he was not destined to die on the cross he carried. Christ, by contrast, willingly and gladly carried His cross and died upon it, breathing forth His soul at last into His Father’s hands. Let us follow Him and imitate all He did. You have various afflictions which constitute your cross. Bear them willingly to the very end, when you will finally yield your soul to God. Give Him praise and thanks for calling you to His service. Scorn no-one, for it is God’s will that you love each one of your neighbors as you do those of your own community. Strive to curb all unruly instincts within you. To this end try one remedy today and another tomorrow, so that gradually you will subdue your unruly impulses, and when the Lord sees your good will and your perseverance, He will give you the support of His grace, enabling you to sustain to the end the burdens of religious life. Through His love nothing will be too difficult for you to bear.”

Novena to St. Teresa of Avila by St. Alphonsus of Liguori ( Pray especially beginning on October 7 and ending on October 15 , the Feast of St. Teresa.) Day 1 O most amiable Lord Jesus Christ! We thank Thee for the great gift of faith and of devotion to the Holy Sacrament, which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits and by those of Thy faithful spouse, to grant us the gift of a lively faith, and of a fervent devotion toward the most Holy Sacrament of the altar; where Thou, O infinite Majesty! hast obliged Thyself to abide with us even to the end of the world, and wherein Thou didst so lovingly give Thy whole Self to us. Say one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be. V. St. Teresa, pray for us: R. That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ. Let us pray: Graciously hear us, O God of our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa, so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervour of a tender devotion; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. 4:00 minutes For the rest of the Novena to St. Teresa of Avila please follow the links below. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9

“My Jesus, I love You. I am totally Yours. I give myself completely to Your divine will. Jesus, give me the cross, but give me the strength to carry it. It matter not whether You give me the abandonment of Calvary or the joys of Nazareth. I only want to see You contented. I doesn’t bother me to be unable to feel, to be insensible as a rock, because I know, my sweet Jesus, that You know I love you. Give me the cross. I want to suffer for You, but teach me to suffer by loving, with joy and with humility. Lord, if it please You that the darkness of my soul becomes deeper, that I not see You, it will not bother me because I want to fulfill Your will. I want to spend my life suffering to make reparation for my sins and those of sinners and so priests will be sanctified. I do not want to be happy, but for You to be happy. I want to be like a soldier so that at every moment You can dispose of my will and preferences. I want to be courageous, strong and generous in serving You, Lord. You are the Spouse of my soul. ” Copyright 1989, God the Joy of My Life, translated by Michael D. Griffin, O.C.D. Teresian Charism Press Holy Hill 1525 Carmel Road Hubertus, WI 53033 USA

St. Teresa of Avila - The Way of Perfection Chapter 24 “Now then, let us speak again to those souls I mentioned that cannot recollect or tie their minds down in mental prayer or engage in reflection. As a matter of fact there are many persons seemingly terrified by the mere term “mental prayer” or “contemplation,” for as I have also said, not everyone walks by the same path. Well, what I now want to counsel you about (I can even say teach you, because as a Mother, having the office of prioress, I am allowed to teach) is how you must prayer vocally, for it’s only right that you should understand what you’re saying. And because it can happen that those who are unable to think about God may also find long prayers tiring, I don’t want to concern myself with these. But I will speak of those prayers we are obliged as Christians to recite (such as the Our Father and the Hail Mary) so that people won’t be able to say of us that we speak and don’t understand what we’re speaking about – unless we think it is enough for us to follow the practice in which merely pronouncing the words is sufficient. What I would like us to do, daughters, is refuse to be satisfied with merely pronouncing the words. For when I say, “I believe,” it seems to me right that I should know and understand what I believe. And when I say, “Our Father,” it will be an act of love to understand who this Father of ours is and who the Master is who taught us this prayer. Well, god never allows us to forget the Master who taught us this prayer, and with so much love and desire that it benefit us. He wants us to remember Him often when we say the prayer, even though because of our weakness we do not remember Him always. Now with regard to vocal prayer, you already know that His Majesty teaches that it be recited in solitude. This is what He always did when He prayed, and not out of any need of His own but for our instruction. It has already been mentioned that one cannot speak simultaneously to God and to the world; this would amount to nothing more than reciting the prayer while listening to what is being said elsewhere or to letting the mind wander and making no effort to control it. There can be exceptions at times either to bad humors – especially if the person is melancholic – or because of faint feelings in the head so that all efforts become useless. Or it can happen that God will permit days of severe temptation in his servants for their greater good. And though in their affliction they are striving to be quiet, they cannot even be attentive to what they are saying, no matter how hard they try; nor will the intellect settle down in anything, but by the disordered way it goes about, it will seem to b in a frenzy. Whoever experiences the affliction these distractions cause will see that they are not his fault; he should not grow anxious, which makes things worse, or tire himself trying to put order into something that a the time doesn’t have any, that is, his mind. He should just pray as best he can; or even not prayer, put like a sick person strive to bring some relief to his soul; let him occupy himself in other works of virtue. This advice now is for persons who are careful and who have understood that they must not speak simultaneously to both God and the world. What we ourselves can do is to strive to be alone; and please God it will suffice, as I way, that we understand to whom we are speaking and the answer the Lord makes to our petitions. Do you think He is silent: Even though we do not hear Him, He wpeaks weel to the heart when we beseech Him from the heart... (more) The Way of Perfection, Chapter 36. The Collected Works of Teresa of Avila Volume Two. Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez O.C.D. ICS Publications Institute of Carmelite Studies, Washington, D.C. 1980 ISBN 0-9600876-6-4 (v. 2)

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Short meditations for your soul from the mystical writings of the great saints of Carmel. These prayerful inspirations come directly from the treasury of writings of the great Carmelite Saints including: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, St. Teresa of the Andes, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, St. Teresa Benedicta and many more! We hope these short reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life! The OCDS Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis have produced these meditations and are updated regularly with new inspirations.

Teresa de los Andes – Letter 109 To Elisa Valdes Ossa J.M.J.T. June 13, 1919 “Do you know which souls enjoy my Kindness most, Our Lord asked? The ones who rely on Me most. Trusting souls run off with My graces. I am all love; and the greatest pain they can give My Heart is to doubt My Kindness. My Heart not only sympathizes, but even rejoices to make up for failings as long as there is no malice involved. If you only knew the work I could do in a soul filled with miseries, provided it allowed me to work there. Love needs nothing. It seeks only that there be no resistance; and ordinarily, what I ask to make a soul holy is that she let Me act. A soul’s imperfections, when given no consent do not displease Me, but call forth My compassion. I love souls so much…